The Classroom Resource The French Horn assets French Horn What does a french horn look like? The french horn looks a bit like a snake coiled around and around itself. If you Classroom unwound the entire horn tube it would be nearly four metres long! The french horn has a detachable mouthpiece which fits in one end of the tube. The hornist blows Task... through the mouthpiece to get air into the instrument. The other end of the tube flares out into what is known as a bell, and this is where the sound comes out. When What is pitch? you watch a hornist play you will notice that they put their right hand into the bell. This helps them control the sound that comes out of the horn. Modern french horns Pitch means whether a have at least three valves, which you push a bit like the keys on a piano, and which help the hornist to play different notes. They also have shorter lengths of tube that note is a high note or a low can be pulled out or pushed in a bit to change the pitch of the instrument. note. In groups, ask one french horn person to choose a note The modern on the piano keyboard You may not know it, but many of you will be extremely familiar with the sound of the french horn due to its popularity with film music composers. The hornist Vincent close to middle C. Take it DeRosa must be about the most recorded hornist in history, as he has been the in turns to sing a diferent principal horn for a number of Hollywood studios and composers, including John Williams. John Williams has written some of the most famous horn tunes of all time, note than the original one. for films such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, and ET: The Extra-Terrestrial. Are you singing high or low pitch? Occasionally play Auxilliary Instruments the original note to remind The Wagner tuba, despite its name, is actually a member of the horn family. It was invented for the composer Richard Wagner to use in his grand operatic Ring Cycle. yourselves where you The Wagner tuba is a modified horn, with the main noticeable difference being that started from. the bell points upwards in a vertical position. The NZSO owns a number of beautiful Wagner tubas which take pride of place in the orchestra for special performances of music by Wagner. timpani A bit of horn geography percussion Trombone The french horn isn’t actually from France. french TUBA The french horn 40 years ago the International Horn Society horn in the orchestra recommended that the name be changed trumpet to simply ‘Horn’ to prevent confusion, as the Modern orchestras usually have five instrument that you see most hornists playing in Clarinet french horns which play in a very Bassoon the orchestra is actually a German horn! specific pattern. The 1st and 3rd flute oboe double hornists play high music and the 2nd bass and 4th hornists play low music. The 2n 5th hornist (often called a bumper) harp Violin d supports the 1st hornist by joining Repertoire that Cello in at particularly loud moments, features the french horn 1st or giving them a break whist they prepare for a big solo. You can see Violin Because of its rich, romantic sound, the french Viola that the french horn section is really horn has been popular with composers as a a team, with the players working in pairs and as a whole. Since valves were added to solo instrument. There are many well known horns, composers have really expanded how they use the section. Perhaps the most concertos for horn, including four by Mozart. extreme example is Richard Strauss, who asked for 20 horns in his Alpine Symphony! Schumann composed a concerto for four solo horns and orchestra, and Richard Strauss who wrote so well for orchestral horns, also composed a beautiful concerto for the french Research Task... horn. The french horn works very well in What is chamber music? Use the internet or a dictionary to chamber music, for example Brahms’ Horn look up a defnition of chamber music. Can you describe how Trio for violin, horn and piano. chamber music diferent from orchestral music? NZSO Music for Schools - Rachel Hyde ©2011 nzso.co.nz/education The Classroom Resource French Horn The French Horn • Crossword Puzzle Classroom Remember what you have learnt about the French Horn and see how well you can complete the crossword puzzle Task... below. More text fller here and here and here. And more text fller here and here and here. 1. 2. Across 3. The French Horn is from which 3. 4. instrument family? (5) 5. What is the ffth horn player in the section often called? (6) 5. 6. Hornists blow through a mouth..... to get air into their instrument (5) 6. 7. The French Horns auxiliary instrument in called a Wagner ....? (4) 9. What animal does a French Horn look a bit like? (5) 7. 8. 11. How many hornists does a modern orchestra usually have? (4) Down 9. 10. 1. What did a Natural Horn not have that a French Horn does? (6) 2. How many meters (nearly) is the tube of a French Horn? (4) 4. The French Horn has ‘rich, ...... sound’ 11. making it popular with composers (8) 5. What is at the end of the French Horn, which hornists put the right hand in? (4) 6. The Horn section work as a team and often work in ....? (5) 8. What is the name of the smphony by Richard Strauss which requires 20 horns? (6) 10. What does a hornist push to move the valves on a French Horn? (4) NZSO Music for Schools - Rachel Hyde ©2011 nzso.co.nz/education.